


The First New Night Sky

by JenNova



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, As Much Consent As Possible, Blow Job, Dubious Consent, First Time, M/M, Mentions of Slavery, Porn With Plot, Post Season 2, Something Made Them Do It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:35:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29902563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenNova/pseuds/JenNova
Summary: Early in his career Din had been warned about Felucian plant life. He should’ve passed the warning onto Cobb before they landed. In both their defences; Cobb hadn’t intended to fall face first into the neon blue fungi when he slipped chasing their mark and Din probably should’ve put his helmet on despite his misgivings about where he currently stood vis a vis his Creed.Din and Cobb working together, falling together, accidentally getting sex pollened together.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth
Comments: 11
Kudos: 107





	The First New Night Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Jen Nova, didn't you have lots of interesting fic ideas you wanted to write?  
> Yes, Generic Reader, I did.  
> So what happened?  
> Well, Dear Reader, I thought "remember that time you spent 6 long fics undermining the dub-con trope in Teen Wolf fandom?" and was under the impression I could do something similar here in a nice, short PWP.  
> Um, this fic is ~10.5k long.  
>  _I KNOW_
> 
> In seriousness I think this grew out of all proportion because I still have a lot of feels I want to get into fic and because this is the one I started focusing on they've ended up here. Beta credit, as always, to dearest Loz. All remaining mistakes my own.
> 
> (Fuller dub-con description in the end notes if you want to check for any potential triggers)

Din thought nothing of it when, aimless and questless after fulfilling his duty to Grogu, he found himself on Tatooine again. It was one of the main hubs for criminal activity on the Outer Rim, after all, and unlike Takodana there were no rules to abide by. That lawlessness was something that had always attracted Din to Tatooine in the past, before caring for Grogu had softened his edges.

He left the junker he’d picked up with his share of the Gideon bounty with a Peli who complained loudly and long about it – but he could see the spark in her eye as she started rebuilding it in her imagination. She took the news of Grogu finding a place with the Jedi with a surprising amount of grace, and was only the third person to punch him on the arm for not knowing who Luke “Hero of the Rebellion” Skywalker was.

He’d had enough contact with Boba to know that he had set himself up in Jabba’s old palace, kicking out the remnants of the old Hutt’s people, and was gearing up to wage some kind of war on the Hutt empire. Din figured he might as well wish him luck with that Rancor sized task in person and was struck voiceless when Fennec led him down into the throne room and there was a familiar figure arguing with Boba.

Din had thought about the Marshal of Mos Pelgo more often than anyone should probably think about a man they’d met once and spent a sparse handful of tense, adrenaline fuelled days with – but it wasn’t every day that he fought side by side with someone and felt something click together like two halves of a whole. It was a little embarrassing how often he’d stared at the armour before Boba claimed it and wondered if it still smelled like the Marshal.

Cobb Vanth looked even better than Din’s rose tinted memories had made him. He still had the red scarf that he’d worn in place of a cowl with Boba’s armour but now it was worn over durasteel plates in desert browns and yellows. He’d be all but invisible against the sands of the Dune Sea if it weren’t for that flash of vanity. The armour he wore now actually fit him, drawing more attention to the lithe lines of his body than could possibly be decent.

The pulse of desire that ripped through Din while he looked at him was so sudden he felt winded, his heart skipping several beats in his chest. He was startled when Fennec tapped a finger to his chin and pushed his mouth closed. She looked at him slyly with half a sharp smile. Din felt his ears heat up.

“First thing he said when he showed up here after Boba invited all the local law around was that you were the one that busted Boba’s jetpack,” Fennec said, laughing lightly when Din jerked his eyes away from Vanth to look at her guiltily. He may have omitted that part of the story when Boba had asked him how he got the armour back. “Don’t worry – Boba already knew. He was watching both of you the whole time.”

“ _Dank ferrik_ ,” Din muttered under his breath.

“All I’m saying is -” Vanth’s voice rose suddenly in the mostly empty chamber “- if you’re going to hit these fellas you got to hit them all at the same time. If you don’t they just go to ground and pop up somewhere else a few months later. Suns above know I learned that the hard way.”

Boba looked at him impassively over folded arms and if it was anyone other than Vanth he was dealing with the person he was staring down might have been intimidated. But Din knew Vanth as a man who was prepared to go into a quickdraw with a fully armoured Mandalorian with the certainty he was going to win.

Fennec chose that moment to draw attention to them with a discrete cough and Din didn’t look away quick enough to avoid catching Vanth’s eyes. Eyes that widened when they took in Din’s naked face above the armour he still hadn’t had enamelled. Vanth jerked his gaze away when recognition hit him and a long time later Din would be sure that was when he started falling in love with him.

“Brother,” Boba said with an actual smile, stepping forward to tap a vambrace against Din’s in greeting. “I think you already know the Marshal.”

“Mando,” Vanth said, a slight hesitation in his gait as he joined them the only sign that he might be off balance. He kept his eyeline firmly on Din’s chest plate and the confusing mix of relief at the consideration and disappointment felt at not being able to see Vanth’s eyes clearly for the first time was enough to make Din feel a little dizzy.

“Vanth,” Din nodded a greeting, a thousand other words sticking in his throat. He tried to ignore the shared smirks between Fennec and Boba and very nearly succeeded. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Vanth said, something soft in the edges of his smile. Din resisted the urge to reach out and tip Vanth’s face up so he could look at him properly. He buried it down deep for later examination.

“You have good timing,” Boba said and both men turned to look at him. “Vanth and I were just discussing plans for putting down the slave rings.”

“It’s only a discussion if both parties listen to each other,” Vanth said hotly, jabbing a finger toward Boba.

“Maybe you can get them to stop measuring their dicks and finally make a decision,” Fennec spoke like she was talking to Din alone but loud enough that Boba and Vanth would both hear. Din suppressed a laugh when Vanth and Boba shot her equally scandalised looks, though there was more humour in Vanth’s eyes than umbrage at the accusation.

And that was how Din ended up mediating between Boba, who favoured a guerilla warfare approach to clearing out the rings, and Vanth - representing freed slaves and Tusken tribes that had had enough of the gangs raiding their lands for resources – whose strategy Din had heard outlined when he came into the room. Privately Din was wholly on Vanth’s side, certain that for all his experience Boba Fett still thought like a Bounty Hunter relying only on himself when Vanth was the one who’d lived on Tatooine all his life and knew what worked when dealing with slavers.

By the time the two men had come to an agreement on next steps Din was sure that he’d showed his hand, judging from the private smile of thanks Vanth sent his way, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, enjoying being in their company, and Fennec’s, too much. The Grogu shaped absence in his life had led him to realise that allowing himself to care for someone had also opened him up to having to acknowledge how lonely he was for the first time in his life. He had no idea where the Tribe had ended up after relocating the Covert and he was avoiding the _other_ Mandalorians until Bo-Katan was ready to issue her formal challenge for the Darksaber. That left him with the motley crew of people he’d found himself relying on in the last year for human contact and he’d never been good at keeping that up.

Maybe that was why he’d been drawn to Tatooine after all – knowing there’d be potential work for him and knowing, too, that a small handful of people there cared whether he lived or died. As Vanth finally realised that he could look at Din’s face without repercussion and Din _finally_ got to see those brilliantly hazel eyes without the visor of a helmet between them, Din found that for the first time since he’d let Grogu go he didn’t feel so empty inside.

–

The following months were amongst some of the more satisfying of Din’s career. Before Grogu Din’s life had been nothing but dedication to providing for the Covert as the only member allowed to leave. Giving his spare funds to sponsor foundlings was the only thing he did for himself. That and his rare sexual encounters, where Din would balance the guilt of allowing himself to be lost in a partner by taking on a much tougher bounty as his next gig.

Hunting bounties for Boba, now that he was running down slavers and syndicate assassins and people who took pleasure in putting a boot to the neck of people below them, gave Din a much needed purpose that went beyond duty. Din found that he actively _wanted_ to do the work, in a way he hadn’t quite before, and each time he handed another bounty off to a Republic Marshal or dumped another slaver in Boba’s cells to be questioned it felt like a small weight slid from his shoulders.

He would be lying if he said the greatest pleasure he got from the work wasn’t the opportunity to see Cobb Vanth more often. Boba seemed to enjoy finding reasons for them to work together after that first afternoon in the Palace. There were still plenty of leftover Hutt gangsters and syndicate slave masters to be hunted down on Tatooine even after the almost military scale raid Vanth and Boba had mounted and Vanth was always happy to be invited along.

Vanth had a particular score to settle with the Red Key Raiders, the group who had posed as a mining syndicate when they took over Mos Pelgo. They hadn’t troubled Mos Pelgo since he’d run them out of town for good but it had never sat right with him that they were still in operation. With the Greater Krayt Dragon finally killed and the peace holding with the local Tusken tribe he was finally free to do something about it.

Most people probably would’ve balked at the darkness that came out in Vanth on the first hunt they’d taken together but to Din? Seeing what was buried beneath all those wide smiles and that cocky posturing was something of a revelation. He understood some of the fury and pain that Vanth felt and privately marvelled at the way he was able to pack it away when he didn’t need it.

And they still worked well together. Two broken jigsaw pieces that just happened to align perfectly – it was something Din had been looking for all his life but had never realised until he was grinning across a room of felled bodies at Vanth. There’d been blood on Vanth’s teeth and the paint on his armour was scratched, his hands dirty and chest heaving slightly as he drew in deep breaths, and he was the most striking thing Din had ever seen.

“Call me Cobb, partner,” he’d said when Din had dropped him off on the outskirts of Mos Pelgo, holding their handshake just a little too long. He’d tipped the wide brimmed hat he’d taken to wearing at Din and Din hadn’t stopped himself from watching him walk away.

Din hadn’t truly realised quite how deep he was in until he was sitting opposite Cobb in Cobb’s house-cum-Marshal’s office, his armour spread between them as they both worked to clean gore from it before it dried and the smell permeated the metal. The boss of the fourth Red Key safehouse they’d cleaned out had kept beasts and they’d both nearly been Rancor food when he set his menagerie free. Din had hoped the low lighting was hiding the slight blush in his cheeks as he watched how carefully Cobb handled the armour, like he understood how precious it was.

Cobb had also let Din tend to his wounds that time, the nasty scratch up his side from a Nexu needed particular attention, and he’d almost been afraid to talk and give himself away. Luckily for him Cobb could talk enough for the both of them and had stories enough to last them for days.

Finally, after months of pulling information from different sources, Boba contacted both of them with the news Cobb had confessed late one stake-out that he most wanted to hear – they had a lead on Lorgan Movellan, the Weequay boss of the Raiders.

“It’s a Zabrak called Kapras,” Boba told them both, putting a holo on the table between them. “Was Movellan’s second in command after you killed most of his men. Don’t know why he isn’t anymore but he’s been sighted on Felucia trying to stay low. Looks like he’s lost his protection.”

“That’s not an easy place to stay low for a Zabrak,” Din said. “He wouldn’t exactly fit in with the locals.”

“True,” Boba offered a shrug. “But he _has_ put all of Hutt space between himself and Tatooine – doesn’t seem like a coincidence to me.”

“Hmm,” Din picked up the holo and put it into a pouch before turning to Cobb. “Have you ever been off planet?”

“What do you think?” Cobb let out an amused snort. “Weren’t ‘til recently that I managed to see more than three places on this dustbowl let alone -” he waved a hand upwards “- seen any of that up there.”

“There’s a first time for everything, Marshal,” Boba said with his dune-shark smile. Cobb grinned at Din, bouncing very slightly on his feet, and Din couldn’t stop himself from smiling back. The enthusiasm was infectious.

Din could live a hundred lifetimes or more and he’d never forget the look of wonder in Cobb’s eyes as he saw his world from space for the first time. Din had worked out their angle of ascent so that Cobb would get to see the twin suns rise over its edge, gilding the “dustbowl” with light. If he’d been a poet he could’ve written a thousand odes to the reflected suns in Cobb’s eyes.

\--

Early in his career Din had been warned about Felucian plant life. He should’ve passed the warning onto Cobb before they landed. In both their defences; Cobb hadn’t intended to fall face first into the neon blue fungi when he slipped chasing their mark and Din probably should’ve put his helmet on despite his misgivings about where he currently stood vis a vis his Creed.

It wasn’t obvious at first, the more often they had worked together the more Din had realised Cobb was a tactile person so he had become used to casual touches and suppressing the urge to lean into them. The touches started to linger, though; a hand in the middle of Din’s back when they were making their way through the cave system, grabbing Din by the shoulder to pull him out of Kapras’ line of sight, standing so close Din could feel his breath when they’d finally cornered the slaver and were planning their ambush.

Din had looked at Cobb and seen a glazed look in his eyes, like he’d only seen on the occasions he’d had to pour the man into a bed after one too many spotchkas in a cantina, and he was staring at Din’s hands like he wanted to -

_The spores_.

“ _Kriff_ ,” Din said under his breath, testing his theory by taking a step away from Cobb. Cobb followed him like iron drawn to a magnet. “Cobb.”

“Hmm?” Cobb looked up and met Din’s eyes, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Din forcibly stopped himself from staring at Cobb’s mouth.

“I think we might have a problem,” Din said, folding his arms against the sudden surge of want through his system. Now he’d made the connection he could feel the artificial arousal building up in himself too.

“Yeah?” Cobb said, stepping entirely into Din’s space. He didn’t touch Din but there was barely an inch between them. How many times had Din wanted this in the past months? But it wasn’t real so he stepped back again, Cobb’s face twisting up like he was insulted. “What’s the problem?”

“I, uh, I think that fungus you fell into might have been, uh,” Din groped dusty corners of his mind for the right kind of word, “an aphrodisiac. A powerful one.”

Needless to say, Cobb had a lot to say about the situation after that. Din told him what he could remember from other spacers he’d met – that they should avoid contact, try to find some way to get it out of their systems as soon as they could, that the best thing they could do is find something else to focus on. The symptoms? Attraction to the nearest sentient, a fever the felt like it boiled the blood and uncontrollable arousal.

“You’re going to get, um,” Din swallowed loudly, and looked away from Cobb’s eyes where it felt like they were looking right through him. “You’ll likely end up hard for a long time.”

“Well,” Cobb said, hands on his hips as he cocked them to one side. “At least that’s something I’m familiar with, even if I’m a few decades past havin’ to deal with all that.”

Din surprised himself by laughing and got caught up in the expression of genuine delight that spread across Cobb’s face on hearing it.

“Come on,” Din said, shaking his head. “We’ve got a slaver to catch.”

\--

“Sorry,” Cobb said again, shivering miserably beside Din. His cheeks were flushed red and there was sweat in his hairline, something Din had never seen on him even under the high noon suns on Tatooine.

Din hadn’t got as big a dose as Cobb so the fever hadn’t started for him yet. Just the mounting arousal which, if he was honest with himself, wasn’t much different to how he usually felt around Cobb when they worked together. He’d always found competency attractive.

“It’s not your fault,” Din said with a shake of his head. He tugged on the line he’d tied around Kapras’ wrists to stop the Zabrak from lagging too far behind.

They’d had to gag him after catching him because he wouldn’t stop loudly insisting they had the wrong person – despite the syndicate tattoos that covered his arms. Now Kapras was dragging his feet behind them as they headed back to the ship as fast as Cobb was able to go now that the spores had a full hold on him.

“Some first trip off planet, eh?” Cobb tried to smile but another shiver turned it into a grimace. He was holding his arms tightly across his chest, gripping his biceps hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Din tried vainly not to stare at the way it made the shirt under his armour tighten pleasingly.

“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Din said, letting out a rueful laugh. He found himself drifting close enough to Cobb to imagine he could feel the heat of the man through his armour. 

“Yeah?” Cobb leaned toward him before shaking himself and side-stepping to put distance between them again. “Reckon there’s a story there, partner.”

“Not a very good one,” Din said, with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Anything to take my mind off this fever,” Cobb said, letting out a shaky breath. “Besides – listening to you talk makes it feel less -” Cobb released the iron grip of one of his hands and waved it through the air “- _too much_ ”

“I’m not as good at storytelling as you are,” Din said, _but for you I’ll try_ he didn’t say out loud. “I don’t actually remember my first time off planet because I was too young – but the first time I left Nevarro for a bounty was a _disaster_ -”

Greef had probably taken pity on him when he gave him the bounty in the first place – Stars only knew Din was greener than a Naboo forest – because the Covert’s main hunter had been grievously injured on her last hunt and would be recuperating for weeks. Din supposed, with the benefit of working for and with Greef for years, that having a Mandalorian on his books was prestigious enough that even if it was a kid in ill-fitting armour it still counted for something.

It had been a disaster from the moment Din left Nevarro’s atmosphere – the jump to hyperspace had caused him to vomit inside his helmet, a smell he wouldn’t be able to get rid of for over a month; the bounty had gone to ground on their home planet, a swampy morass of bogs and ancient forests impossible to navigate if you hadn’t lived there for years; his blaster had misfired because of the moisture and he lost his best knife when he missed his footing and tumbled ass first into sucking mud so thick he nearly lost his boots trying to get out.

He’d found his bounty completely by accident in the end, both of them spotting each other on either side of a small clear creek at the same time, and the ensuing grappling match resulted in both of them covered in so much mud and filth that Din hadn’t felt clean for a week. The only upside was that he’d won the fight at all, and even then it had been too close run a thing for his young pride. After a few drinks Greef liked to regale people with an intricate description of just how bedraggled and sodden Din had been when he finally brought the bounty in. A description Din repeated just to see Cobb smile.

Cobb was laughing when he suddenly doubled over with a grunt. Din was at his side in a moment, forgetting that he was supposed to be keeping his distance. He reached out for Cobb’s shoulder and only just stopped himself before making contact.

“What is it?” he asked. Cobb squinted up at him.

“Well,” he said, clutching his abdomen as he tried to straighten up and angle his hips out of Din’s sight line at the same time, leaving himself curiously twisted. “I think you were definitely right about the arousal peaking. Let’s just say I don’ think it’s gonna be a comfortable walk back to the ship.”

“Oh,” Din felt himself blush furiously. He averted his eyes from Cobb to look at the trees around them. The particular grouping of purple and pink trunks looked familiar so at least it wasn’t too far, now.

“Also,” Cobb said slowly, something straining his voice. “It hurts. Not my – I mean, my insides. Like every bit inside me is crampin’ up. It wasn’t so bad at first, thought maybe it was just hunger but, uh -”

Cobb interrupted himself with another pained grunt and Din turned back to him desperate to help in some way but knowing he couldn’t. Cobb’s hair was hanging damp with sweat over his forehead and he looked absolutely miserable. And yet was still somehow the most handsome man Din had ever seen. It made his heart hurt in a way he’d never felt before.

Defying everything he’d said about what they shouldn’t do he reached out and grabbed one of Cobb’s hands, squeezing gently. Cobb squeezed back with a shaky sigh.

“I know it’s hard,” Din expected the snorted laugh from Cobb and he smiled when it came. “We just have to get back to the ship and get him -” Din jerked his head toward Kapras who was glaring at them over the gag “- stowed away and then we can see if the Felucians have an antidote.”

“Okay,” Cobb managed to pull himself back up to his full height, but he didn’t release Din’s hand. “It’s gonna take a lot more than some horny alien mushrooms to put an end to me.”

–

They didn’t make it back to the Felucian village before Cobb was in too much pain to continue. In fact, judging by the uncontrollable shuddering, they were lucky to make it back to the _Crest II_. Din all but threw Kapras into the carbonite chamber in his haste to do _something_ to help Cobb. The fever was on him as well, by that point, and his fingers almost shook too much to set the freezing cycle off.

Cobb had fled for the refresher as soon as the _Crest II’s_ ramp had hit the ground, shedding pieces of armour as he went, and when Din searched for him he found the small door at the back of the galley locked. His rested his forehead against the cool metal and listened for any sign of Cobb in distress. He could hear the occasional breathless hitching moan that went straight to his cock.

“Cobb,” Din raised his voice loud enough to be heard on the other side of the door. The sound of a fist hitting a wall was all he got for an answer. “Cobb, it’s not something you can, uh, _take care_ of yourself.”

“You got experience you’re not telling me about?” Cobb’s voice when he spoke came from just on the other side of the door and Din could see him in his mind’s eye; dishevelled and flushed, probably only half out of his clothes. Would Cobb hold his cock tight and hard? Or would he be gentle and languid?

_Crik_. They were thoughts Din had idly entertained alone at night after letting Grogu go, no longer afraid of a little green face sneaking in on him, but the visuals were now too vivid and real with only a door between him and Cobb.

“Just a couple of stories from other bounty hunters,” Din admitted. He flattened his palms against the metal of the door like the heat he was flushed with would melt through it. “They all said the same thing – if you and someone else got dosed by the same one you’d better hope you were close enough to be okay with -”

“Fucking someone you’re not even involved with?” Cobb’s voice was shaky and Din wished he could see him, if only because his eyes would tell Din how he was _really_ feeling.

“Cobb,” Din said again, blowing out a breath. “I really don’t mind -”

“It’s not – not about _minding_ , Mando,” Cobb interrupted, something heavy in his voice. “You can’t agree to something when you’ve got no control like this. It’s not right.”

“I _want_ to help,” Din said, thumping the door once with a fist. He swallowed heavily and summoned up all his courage before adding: “I would have wanted to help even if I hadn’t been dosed.”

There was actual silence on the other side of the door. Like Cobb was frozen. Din strained his ears for any sound. Finally a soft shuffling and then a feeling on the edge of perception, like Cobb was as close as he could possibly get.

“What’re you saying, Mando?” Cobb asked, just loud enough for Din to hear him. Din sighed to himself and straightened up, leaving his hands pressed against the door.

“My name’s Din,” he said, ears burning furiously for a reason other than the fever rushing through his system. He’d long ago decided that he would only give his name to eventual members of his clan, to people he wanted to be _family_. Somewhere between killing a dragon for him and now Cobb had made his way onto that very short list.

He hoped that Cobb would understand without Din having to find the words to explain.

“Din,” Cobb said and it was like an electric spark went off in Din’s brain. No-one had said his name so kindly in decades. “You really mean that?”

“I might’ve even had the courage to buy you a drink after this,” Din said, cheeks tingling with imagined embarrassment.

“Might’ve had the courage to say yes,” Cobb said. Din felt a white hot rush of adrenaline go through him at the words combined with the sound of the lock on the ‘fresher door disengaging.

Even if Din hadn’t been dosed by aphrodisiac mushroom spores he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from gasping quietly when Cobb pushed the ‘fresher door open. His normally perfect silver hair was in disarray, like he’d been tugging on it, and his cheeks were flushed red with arousal. His eyes were a little wild and Din wondered if this was what Cobb normally looked like when he was with someone or if it was just a product of the spores.

“We don’t have to do anything more than you need to feel better,” Din said to stop himself from saying something else, something too loaded for the situation. “We won’t go straight to fucking.”

Din didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Cobb was lunging into his space and catching his face between too-hot palms. Cobb was looking into his eyes and searching for something, searching for Din’s consent, and Din brought his hands up to fold over Cobb’s and nodded. He opened his mouth to speak and Cobb closed the distance with a muffled sound, his lips sliding along Din’s until they came together perfectly. Din couldn’t stop the moan that escaped him as Cobb sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and pressed his teeth there briefly.

Din’s back hit the wall behind him, Cobb using his sliver of extra height to crowd in against him and align their bodies so their cocks pressed together through clothes and armour. He felt like Cobb was going to devour him with kisses and the fever rushing through him told him that it would be a good way to die. But this wasn’t supposed to be about him, this was supposed to be Din helping Cobb and he couldn’t do that by passively letting Cobb take him apart.

With an emotional strength he didn’t know he had Din managed to break away from Cobb’s sinful mouth and push him back a little. Cobb’s eyes were veiled with a haze of lust that made Din buck up against him before he could exert control over himself again. Cobb’s eyes flicked from Din’s eyes to his mouth and back again, like he couldn’t decide what he wanted to look at more. Din felt like he was boiling in his clothes.

“Bunks,” Din managed to get out when all he wanted to do was tell Cobb how gorgeous he looked this desperate for Din to touch him. “We should -”

Cobb was already nodding frantically and dragging himself reluctantly away from Din, hands sliding down his neck, shoulders, arms before gripping his hands so tight it almost hurt. It gave Din a chance to notice Cobb’s belt undone at his waist, his shirt half unbuttoned to expose the tender flesh of his abdomen and the light trail of hair leading down to where his cock was bulging against the material of his pants. Din couldn’t be blamed for stumbling slightly when Cobb tugged on his hands to lead him toward the small sleeping quarters. Cobb caught his eye again and this time flashed him that sly grin that always made Din’s insides swoop and his skin flush with heat.

“C’mon, partner,” Cobb said, his voice gone deeper than Din had ever heard it. “Show me what you can do.”

He squeezed Din’s hands once and then took off, Din chasing him instinctively, laughing when Din caught him at the door to the sleeping quarters and bodily lifted him against the it. Cobb’s eyes went wide for a moment at the show of strength then fluttered shut as Din ground against him, finding sweet friction for both their aching cocks.

“You might regret saying that,” Din said, palming the lock for the door and looping an arm around Cobb’s waist to stop him from tumbling back through the doorway.

“Darlin’, I ain’t ever regretted a thing when it comes to you,” Cobb said, lifting his legs to squeeze around Din’s waist as Din walked them into the room, locking the door when it shut behind them. Cobb’s temple pressed against Din’s as he leaned in to kiss the sensitive spot under Din’s ear and Din’s world went soft at the edges. He couldn’t tell if it was from the words or the kiss but it felt like his very blood was singing in his veins.

Din set Cobb down with more care than he thought he had left in him now that the aphrodisiac in his system had caught up to Cobb’s. Cobb splayed his legs in clear invitation as soon as Din stepped back and it took all the iron control he’d learnt as a child not to throw himself down and worship him.

“Take off what you can,” Din said, hands moving by muscle memory alone to loosen his cape and start unbuckling his cuirass so he could keep watching Cobb.

“Now that ain’t fair,” Cobb said, dragging his shirt over his head and ruffling his already destroyed hair. “First time we did this I really had it in my mind that I’d be the one peeling you outta that armour.”

Clearly Cobb didn’t know enough about Mandalorians, or Din’s kind of Mandalorians at least, to know how shocking and intimate those words would be to Din. Removing a partner’s armour, caring for it, was one of the most intimate things the Way of the Watch allowed for and that Din let Cobb do that for him from the fourth time they had worked together should maybe have been a sign that Din paid more attention to.

“Next time,” Din managed to say, his voice hoarse with unexpected emotion.

“Next time?” Cobb paused with his thumbs hooked into the waist of his pants, head cocked up at Din.

“Definitely next time,” Din said, nodding firmly. He pulled his gloves and vambraces off as quickly as he could so he could shuck his chest and back plates without missing a moment of Cobb’s undressing.

“I’ll take that as a promise, Din,” Cobb said and, yeah, Din was going to enjoy his name on Cobb’s lips. Cobb fell back against the bed and hitched his hips up to push his pants and underwear off at the same time and Din felt his mouth go dry seeing the curve of his spine. He nearly dropped his pauldrons at the sight.

“Fuck, Din, you keep lookin’ at me like that and I ain’t gonna be responsible for what I do,” Cobb’s amused voice brought Din’s eyes back up to his face to catch a smaller version of that sly grin of his. Cobb’s accent seemed to come on thicker the more aroused he got, consonants and whole words missing from his sentences. It was almost unbearably hot.

Din let himself laugh and Cobb’s eyes lit up in delight, the way Grogu’s used to when he said his name – Din forcibly stopped that train of thought. By the Stars, this was no place for thoughts of the kid. He concentrated instead on holding his hands steady enough to unzip his bodysuit, pulling his arms out when it was low enough to allow the fabric to fall about his middle. The cool air of the ship felt good against his skin. He looked up at Cobb again as he moved onto his thigh plates and paused with his hands in mid-air, half bent over.

Cobb had a loose grasp of his cock. It looked about the same as Din’s but paler and maybe a little thicker, and he was stroking himself slowly while watching Din undress. That answered Din’s question about how Cobb touched himself at least. Cobb’s eyes were hooded half moons of pleasure and Din couldn’t stand not touching him any longer.

He crashed to his knees between Cobb’s legs, knowing that he’d pay for the force he hit the ground with later, and put his hands on Cobb’s lean thighs at last, hard with desert forged muscle. Cobb shivered under his touch and motioned with his free hand for Din to lean up enough that he could kiss him. It started surprisingly chaste but chaste wasn’t what Din wanted. He got a hand in Cobb’s hair and _bit_ his way into Cobb’s mouth, relishing the groan that vibrated in the back of Cobb’s throat.

Din kissed him and kissed him, until his lungs were burning and his mouth felt bruised, getting his other hand on Cobb’s balls and rolling them gently in his fingers. Cobb shuddered this time and he broke the kiss, pressing his forehead to Din’s and breathing heavily. Din looked down at their hands and could see Cobb looking as well, marvelling at how well they worked together even in this. It only seemed natural, then, to duck down and lick of the tip of Cobb’s cock when a bead of precum welled up there.

“Kriff, fuck,” Cobb swore as Din turned that lick into a slow slide of his mouth down Cobb’s cock, dropping down until he met Cobb’s hand on an upstroke. He knocked Cobb’s hand away and took up the same languid strokes with his own, his other hand still firm on Cobb’s balls.

“Thought this was s’posed to be for both’a us,” Cobb said as his hands flailed slightly before finding a home on Din’s shoulders, squeezing in time with the movements of his mouth and hand. Din pulled up until just the head of Cobb’s cock rested against his lower lip.

“Trust me,” Din said, letting the vibration of his words buzz against Cobb’s cock and holding his eyeline. “It is.”

It was the purest truth; Din had loved every time he was able to do this for someone, whether it was a trusted member of the Covert when they both just needed to get off or someone willing to help him bend the rules just enough that he could get his mouth on them, he loved getting down this close. The smell and the taste and the loaded intimacy of trusting someone enough with something so private, it hit him right at his core. He slid his mouth back down with a low noise of satisfaction.

“Oh, _Maker_ ,” Cobb breathed out like a prayer. “Don’ know if it was the Force that sent you m’way or just sheer galactic coincidence but you’re gonna kill me with that mouth.”

Din would’ve smiled if he could, as it was his lips were stretched enough by Cobb’s girth that he knew he’d be pleasantly sore the next day. He wondered how quick he could finish Cobb like this, if that would be enough if he got off as well, but as he pushed Cobb closer and closer to the edge he could read frustration building up in the lines of Cobb’s body. Cobb’s hands went from rhythmically squeezing to gently pushing him back.

“Something’s wrong,” Din said, his voice rasping from the way he’d been using his throat. He liked that Cobb was the reason for it. He kept his hand moving and watched as Cobb visibly felt around for what he wanted to say, elegant hands fluttering through the air.

“It feels like,” Cobb’s voice was hoarse as well and Din couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the thought of being responsible. “Feels like I can get close but somethin’s holding me back. Not gonna lie, Din, I prolly woulda come the moment you went on your knees for me if we were doin’ this for real.”

Cobb’s words from the ‘fresher, _‘fucking someone you’re not even involved with’ _, came back to Din with a startling clarity and as simple as that he knew what Cobb needed. Convincing him of that given his earlier misgivings, convincing him that Din wanted it – had wanted it before this had happened, had been wanting anything and everything he could have with Cobb for more than a little while – was going to be the difficult part.__

__Din pulled back and rocked onto his feet, wincing as his knees threatened to crack as he stood, figuring a little distance would make it easier to talk to Cobb. Cobb watched him with something like caution in his eyes, like he was convinced Din was going to run out on him. Cobb drew his legs up onto the bunk, wrapping his arms around his shins and hugging his knees to his chest. He rested his chin on them and watched as Din set about working his way out of the rest of his armour._ _

__How to convince Cobb that he wanted him? Cobb liked his town and his friends, drinking and laughing and fighting, the satisfying feel of a blaster on his hip and killing slavers, a hundred other things Din had noticed about him as they kept running into each other – but above all he loved a good story, telling or hearing one. He’d even asked for one earlier that day. Din smiled a small smile to himself and after kicking off his boots and pants, leaving just his underwear on, moved to sit at the head of the bed, perpendicular to Cobb. Cobb’s eyes followed him._ _

__“Let me tell you another story,” Din said when he was sure he had Cobb’s full attention. “I promise this is better than the one I told you earlier._ _

__“There was a man, a warrior, and he’d made himself a cage of armour that fitted him so well it felt like he _was_ the armour. The warrior travelled the galaxy and hunted to provide for his people and thought that he had all he needed in life, anything soft about him buried so deep inside the armoured cage that he’d forgotten he was ever soft to begin with._ _

__“Then one hunt the warrior found someone who needed help, someone whose softness couldn’t be wrapped in armour, and the seams of the warrior’s armour cracked just enough to allow something else in. The warrior had forgotten what it was like to care for someone, knew nothing of friendship and people who would help someone because it was the right thing to do, and slowly other things began to pry at the cracks in his armour. He was afraid but he was honour-bound to help the Child and so the cracks were allowed to grow wider and wider._ _

__“When the warrior completed his quest and found himself alone again he discovered that there were so many cracks in his armour that it didn’t feel like it fit any more. For the first time since he was a child he felt lonely and uncertain of his place. It was terrifying but luckily the warrior had friends, now, people who could see what he needed and help him find it. Friends who probably thought it was funny that the warrior was too awkward to ask for what he wanted and found reason after reason to put him together with _who_ he wanted until he did something about it.”_ _

__Cobb had watched Din with such a gentle expression on his face throughout the story that Din had found it surprisingly easy to crack his heart open and pour out the truth he’d been carrying for the months Boba had been finding excuses to throw him together with Cobb._ _

__“Guess the friend didn’t count on aphrodisiac mushrooms,” Cobb said, mouth quirking into the small, crooked and honest smile it felt like he reserved just for Din. Din blew out a breath that was more sigh than a laugh._ _

__“No,” Din said, leaning forward enough to drop his head to rest against Cobb’s shoulder. “I don’t think he did. We can _never_ tell him.”_ _

__“Cross my heart,” Cobb murmured, shifting and running one of his hands over the back of Din’s head, fingers tangling idly in the curls that were just this side of too long._ _

__“I think I know the only thing that will work,” Din said, his words muffled against Cobb’s skin. He pressed a kiss to his shoulder and looked up to see Cobb watching him with banked heat in his eyes._ _

__“Have ta fuck you,” Cobb said on the tail end of a soft sigh, his fingers clenching in Din’s hair as the fever started to build up between them again. Din nodded and Cobb closed his eyes. “The story was to tell me you’re okay with it, yeah?”_ _

__“Yes,” Din said, letting Cobb pull him forward to rest their foreheads together. It was soothing. “Wanted you to know that I would want you anyway. Just didn’t know how to say it.”_ _

__“Think you said it pretty well,” Cobb said. He used his nose to nudge at Din until he could capture his mouth in a kiss with more restrained tenderness than Din thought he could bear. He broke the kiss when he felt his hands start to tremble with emotion._ _

__“There should be something we can use -” Din reached over to the storage locker between the bunks and felt around until he found the vial of oil he’d picked up the last time he was on a Core world. He pressed it into one of Cobb’s hands and folded his fingers over it, too shy to look up and meet his eyes._ _

__Cobb made a soft noise and tipped Din’s head up with two fingers gently placed under his chin. Whatever he saw when he met Din’s eyes he must’ve been happy with because he leaned in for a kiss full of heated desire. Din’s mouth parted on a gasp when Cobb rubbed a hand against his cock through his underwear and Cobb pressed his advantage to fuck into Din’s mouth with his tongue. Din didn’t know where to put his own hands so settled for grabbing at Cobb’s shoulders and pulling until Cobb got the hint and turned to lay down with him. Their legs tangled and they laughed breathlessly into each other’s mouth as they tried to sort themselves out, ending with Cobb half kneeling between Din’s legs with his hands planted either side of Din’s head._ _

__“You ever done this before?” Cobb asked, looking down at Din and licking his lips._ _

__“A few times,” Din said, wriggling his hips to get comfortable. “Never in this position though.”_ _

__“Mm, good,” Cobb said, trailing a hand down Din’s sternum. “Wanna give you at least some firsts.”_ _

__Din felt his body flash hot at the loaded desire in the words, the way Cobb’s voice had dropped into a lower register than usual. He wanted that too. He’d take all the firsts he could get from Cobb. He felt the fever flash into life under his skin all at once, sweat breaking out all over, and groaned when Cobb leant down to lick it away from his collar bone, making his way up Din’s neck to suck a heated kiss over his pulse._ _

__Cobb pulled back and sat back on his heels, staring down at Din with eyes so dark with lust that they looked nearly black. Din shivered under the attention. Cobb used his hands to frame Din’s cock where it was straining hard and leaking against his underwear before tugging gently at the waistband. While Din took the hint and hitched his legs up enough to pull the offending item off Cobb reached over to the bunk he’d been using and grabbed his pillow._ _

__“Up, darlin’,” Cobb said, tapping gently on Din’s hip when Din briefly froze up at the endearment so lightly spoken. He lifted his hips enough for Cobb to slide the pillow under and relished in the approving noise Cobb made when it helped his legs fall open around him. “There ya go.”_ _

__Cobb soothed a hand down a thigh, curling his fingers just enough to ruffle Din’s leg hair, and settled it around the base of Din’s cock, just barely brushing it. It was enough to make a shudder ripple though Din and Cobb smiled crookedly up at him._ _

__“Gonna make this real good for ya,” Cobb said, opening the vial one-handed. His accent was thickening again and it was impossibly attractive. “Gonna be so good for both’a us.”_ _

__“Can you just -” Din started to say, cutting himself off with a surprised moan when Cobb wrapped one hand around his cock and firmly pressed two fingers from the other hand to his taint. Cobb jerked him lazily, like he had himself earlier, and rubbed slick circles back to Din’s asshole. Din’s mind blanked as Cobb started working slowly to open him up, tracing one finger over and over his rim while the other maintained a gentle pressure against his hole until Din let him in._ _

__Cobb hooked the finger there, at the first knuckle, just letting Din feel him before pulling back for more oil to ease the slide of the whole finger. Din lifted into it, a gasp for breath shocked out of him, and Cobb circled a hand tightly around the base of his cock as orgasm threatened too soon._ _

__“Shh,” Cobb hushed, holding Din on that precipice until Din could forcibly relax himself and move back from the edge. “Don’t want ya to come too soon, Din. Want ya to come with me inside ya. Think ya can hold out, sweetheart?”_ _

__Din found himself unable to speak, his voice completely lost to the roiling desire inside him, so instead he met Cobb’s eyes and nodded firmly. Cobb smiled again, working the finger in and out a few times and watching every reaction Din gave him. He rubbed his thumb restlessly against Din’s rim and sent a constant current of shocks up his spine._ _

__“How many d’you need?” Cobb asked as he drew back all the way and returned with a second finger, pressing in with an inexorable gentle force. Din let go of another embarrassing moan as Cobb crooked the fingers and unerringly hit the sweet spot. His vision went a little white at the edges._ _

__“Uh,” he said intelligently as he pushed down against Cobb’s hand to get more of that sweet pressure. “Three, maybe? Nobody took this much time before.”_ _

__“Tch,” Cobb looked momentarily furious and his hand flexed where it still held Din’s cock. “That ain’t no way to treat a fella.” He released Din’s cock and stretched over him, hand planted on the pillow beside his head so he could lower himself as close as possible. “How ‘bout this? Ya jus’ tell me when you’re ready f’r me.”_ _

__“What about you?” Din closed his eyes rather than go cross eyed trying to watch Cobb’s face. Cobb pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth before replying._ _

__“Oh, I could do _this_ all day,” he murmured, dragging his mouth down Din’s jawline and fetching up by his ear. “How many times d’ya think I could make ya come w’ jus’ my fingers, Din? Reckon I could get at least three outta ya before it was too much.”_ _

__“ _Cobb_ ,” Din arched under Cobb, trying to get some friction for his cock or to escape from the now relentless fucking of his fingers into Din’s hole maybe, Din didn’t even know what his body wanted any more beyond _Cobb_._ _

__“Yeah,” Cobb pulled back enough for Din to be able to open his eyes and look at him again. The intense focus in Cobb’s eyes was almost overwhelming._ _

__More slick oil slid over Din’s entrance and Cobb breached him with three fingers as easy as pressing a hand into fresh bantha butter. Din opened his mouth on a wordless cry and Cobb pressed close again, kissing him and encouraging Din’s tongue back into his mouth. Din finally got one of his hands to respond to him and clasped the back of Cobb’s neck to hold him there, fucking himself on Cobb’s fingers as he mimicked their motion with his tongue in Cobb’s mouth. He was delighted when Cobb moaned against him, his own hips snapping forward and their cocks brushing together setting off sparks in Din’s brain._ _

__“Now,” Din forced the word out when he broke the kiss, still holding Cobb close to him. Cobb nodded and their foreheads bumped together in a brief parody of a keldabe kiss._ _

__“Sure, yeah,” Cobb nodded again several times as leaned back. He took a steadying breath as Din let his hand slide down Cobb’s neck to his shoulder, squeezing there for a moment. Cobb poured oil into his hand and used it to slick his cock, closing his eyes briefly, before shuffling into a comfortable position. On instinct Din reached his own hands down to lift and spread his cheeks._ _

__Din watched Cobb’s face as, with one trembling hand at Din’s entrance and the other on his cock, he pressed the head of his cock slowly against Din’s rim. Din took a breath and let it out slowly willing himself to relax and it slipped in with barely any resistance._ _

__“ _Fuck_ ,” Cobb breathed as he slid in deep and easy, his balls bumping up against Din’s ass in no time at all. “Lookit how good ya take me.”_ _

__Din flushed all over for a different reason than the spores and closed his thighs around Cobb, holding him close. Cobb’s hands went to his hips and squeezed lightly before gripping tight as he pulled out and slid back in again. They both moaned at the action and Din’s toes curled slightly. Din met Cobb’s eyes again and nodded encouragingly. Cobb’s smile quirked again and he began a rolling wave of thrusts, as inexorable as the tide, that drove his cock against Din’s prostate again and again._ _

__Din had thought that Cobb would be loud during sex, had imagined the sounds he might make on his darkest and loneliest nights, and he’d been so wrong. Cobb’s breathing grew louder and shorter, soft moans filtering through as if he couldn’t help it, but he seemed so focused on Din that it was almost like his own pleasure had gone quiet and still._ _

__Din made up for it quite unconsciously, little grunts forcing their way out of his throat on every thrust, abortive little noises falling over each other as Cobb’s pace worked him closer and closer to orgasm. He couldn’t stop touching Cobb, pressing his hands to his chest and then to his hips to feel the lean strength in their movement, but he settled at last with his hands clasped around the back of Cobb’s neck to drag him close enough to kiss again. Cobb’s hands went from Din’s hips to the bed either side of his chest to stop himself from falling._ _

__Pulling Cobb down resulted in a shift of angle and as Din bit his way into Cobb’s mouth with hungry noises at the back of his throat Cobb changed pace and began rolling short thrusts into Din quicker. It was perfect and Din started telling Cobb so, whispering the words over and over against the fever hot flesh of his neck._ _

__“I know, darlin’,” Cobb said, his voice a ruin. “You got me so good, don’ think I can ever stop. Could fuck ya like this forever.”_ _

__Din found himself clinging to Cobb like any distance between them would be a crime, a sacrilege, and as Cobb’s movements became frantic, losing some of their rhythm, the realisation that Cobb was going to come because of him sent Din falling over the edge without either of them touching his cock. He was sure he made a lot of embarrassing noises as he jerked in Cobb’s hold but seeing as they seemed to drive Cobb over the edge just after him, his hips grinding against Din’s ass as he emptied himself deep inside him, he decided it didn’t matter._ _

__With a last twitch of his cock inside Din Cobb’s arms collapsed and he landed on Din’s chest with an _oof_. Din easily took his weight and wrapped his arms around him, holding him close and pressing kisses to his damp hairline. After a moment Cobb lifted his head wearily and sought out Din’s mouth for a soft kiss like a sigh, his whole body going loose and relaxed as the fever left him._ _

__“Feel better?” Din asked, swallowing against a throat hoarse from his orgasm. Cobb chuckled weakly and it rumbled pleasantly through Din’s chest._ _

__“Don’t feel like I’ll be able to move for a week,” Cobb said, his speech slurring slightly. “But at least it don’t feel like my innards are trying eat themselves from the inside out anymore.”_ _

__“Good,” Din sighed from relief and let his head fall more comfortably against the pillow. He relaxed his arms around Cobb and Cobb shifted enough to pull out and slide off to Din’s side. Din held him with one arm and reached down to the floor beside the bed for something to wipe them down with. He came up with his own underwear and shrugged, wiping down his chest and relinquishing them to Cobb when he insisted on taking care of the slick mess he’d made of Din’s ass._ _

__“We should really clean up proper -” Cobb said, interrupting himself with a yawn._ _

__“And I should go down to the Felucian village to ask if we have anything else to worry about,” Din said taking his now despoiled underwear from Cobb and lobbing it toward the crate he used for dirty laundry._ _

__“But we should probably rest a bit first,” Cobb said, curling possessively around Din. “You know – because they say that rest is good for fevers, don’t they.”_ _

__“I’m sure they say that somewhere,” Din agreed, turning to press a kiss against Cobb’s forehead._ _

__“Good plan then,” Cobb said, sleepily pressing an open mouthed kiss against Din’s shoulder. “Rest. Clean. Village.”_ _

__Din didn’t bother replying when Cobb’s breathing instantly fell into the sleeping pattern he’d learnt in recent months. He couldn’t resist tightening his arm around Cobb once more, marvelling at having him in his arms and feeling nothing but a pleasant ache and low level joy rather than the awkward guilt he had sometimes felt after sex in the past._ _

__He touched his face with his free hand and felt the smile there that he couldn’t seem to stop. His face muscles ached a little from it, and probably from the blowjob too, and it sparked thoughts of a future where it might not ache at all to smile so much. He turned his head to bury the smile in Cobb’s hair and let himself drift down into sleep._ _

__–_ _

__“Oh, dear,” said the Felucian village doctor when Din and Cobb had explained the reason for their visit._ _

__They’d slept the rest of the day away and after taking turns in the ‘fresher, despite Cobb’s sly implication of there being room for two (a blatant lie that made Din laugh out loud), had dressed in clean clothes before walking the short distance to the village they had landed near. In the evening the Felucian homes all glowed with a soft green-blue light that Cobb had been fascinated by and Din had eventually flagged down a passing villager to ask if they had a town healer or medic._ _

__“I’m so sorry you were surprised like that,” the doctor added, indicating they should take a seat around a low table. “Nearer the village we ensure that they are cultivated in safe and clearly marked spaces – but once you get into the jungle I’m afraid they grow wild everywhere.”_ _

__“You grow those things on purpose?” Cobb asked, his eyebrows jumping up his forehead._ _

__“Well, of course,” the doctor smiled. “They’re quite commonly used as part of a wedding ceremony – deliberate use between partners can very enjoyable.”_ _

__Cobb blanched suddenly and turned his head away, twisting his hands together in his lap until the flesh pulled tight. Din instantly reached a hand over Cobb’s and shook his head at him when Cobb jerked around to look at him._ _

__“I told you it was okay,” Din said firmly, squeezing Cobb’s hands for emphasis. He looked at the doctor again. “Cobb was the one who was dosed first and he passed it on to me accidentally.”_ _

__“That’s very easily done,” the doctor laughed. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it happen. Luckily the aphrodisiac effect only affects people with an existing chemical attraction – otherwise it just causes a low fever and some discomfort until wears off.”_ _

__“Hang on,” Cobb leant forward in his seat to address the doctor. “You’re telling us that if we weren’t already interested in each other it wouldn’t have made us want to -” he waved a hand and actually blushed._ _

__Of course Cobb would be the kind of man who wouldn’t bat an eye-lid while making a thousand innuendos but be incapable of saying the word ‘sex’ in front of a doctor._ _

__“Of course,” the doctor smiled. “Did you think it had made you do something against your will?”_ _

__Cobb looked at Din and Din stared levelly back. After a second Cobb chuffed a laugh and ran a hand through his hair before turning back to the doctor._ _

__“No, I suppose not,” Cobb said, shaking his head at himself._ _

__“Will there be any after effects?” Din asked._ _

__“Oh, no,” the doctor said. “Certainly not if you achieved completion with one another. A mutual orgasm is generally enough to return the body’s chemical balance back to normal.”_ _

__“Well, mission accomplished there,” Cobb said under his breath and it was Din’s turn to huff out a laugh._ _

__“Thank you for your time, doctor,” Din said, rising from his seat. Cobb followed his movement and nodded his thanks as well._ _

__“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she said, waving them off. “It’s not every day I meet such lovely partners.”_ _

__Din felt himself flush at the implication, the back of his neck heating up. They showed themselves out and walked slowly back to the ship, pausing for Cobb to look at trees and flowers and even bugs that he thought were interesting. Din watched Cobb enjoying the small pleasures of discovery and was once again reminded of Grogu and the wonder the child had treated the world around him with. Each time he thought of Grogu his heart ached a little less, knowing he was somewhere safe that he could continue the learning cut short by the rise of the Empire._ _

__Cobb caught him looking and he smiled at Din, the Felucian night sky reflected in his eyes, and Din felt warmth fill him from head to toe. Cobb joined him on the path again and bumped their shoulders together._ _

__“So,” Cobb said after a moment. “When we get back to Tatooine – how about you buy me that drink?”_ _

__“I think that could be arranged,” Din said, looking sideways at him. He caught Cobb’s infectious smile and returned it, accepting Cobb’s hand when he reached out and sliding his fingers between Cobb’s to hold it carefully._ _

__Din could have this and maybe one day he would be able to have this and Grogu as well. For now, though, walking through the multi coloured trees of Felucia under the first new night sky Cobb had ever seen, Din could have this quiet happiness. He’d finally found the real reason he’d washed up on Tatooine._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Dub-con: as seen in the summary Cobb accidentally gets dosed with 'aphrodisiac fungus spores'. Because the same spores get into to Din's system when Cobb tries to brush them off they both feel strong urges to be with each other sexually, although Din as the viewpoint character doesn't experience as strong symptoms as Cobb. Despite the uncontrollable desire Din & Cobb discuss consent before and during sex acts. They eventually learn that if they weren't already interested in each other the sexual element of the spores wouldn't have affected them.
> 
> End Credits Sting: At Jabba's Palace  
> Fennec: Something happened on Felucia.  
> Boba: Yeah, you could still see some of the blue spores on Vanth's armour.  
> Fennec: ?  
> Boba: It means _someone_ tripped head first into sex mushrooms.  
> Fennec: *eyeroll* _Men_.


End file.
